I guess it can be a little confusing. I noticed you didn't answer the question I put forth above.
Does a person pass the test to see if he is saved if he doesn't love his brother?
Let's also look at 1 John again.
1 John 3:15
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 4:20
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
If Bill (above) loves God and hates his brother, John says he is a liar. And in much stronger language, John says Bill is a murderer, and has no eternal life abiding in him. I keep wondering how people get that Bill is saved, when he is a liar, murderer, and has no eternal life abiding in him.
I don't think repenting is the cause and loving your brother is the effect. Repenting is of no effect if the works corresponding to it are absent.
Acts 26:20
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
I am one who believes salvation is a life long process. It involves so many things which are given us by the Lord. Jesus gave many truths concerning eternal life. Salvation is a change of lifestyle, a renewal if you will. Salvation is hearing and obeying what our Savior told us. Salvation is enduring many things, loving God and our neighbor, and of course, believing in Jesus and all the things He commanded us.
Jesus' words are the words of life.
John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:68
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Every word Jesus gave us is life. There is life in everything He said. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life. When Jesus said if we want to enter life, keep the commandments, you can be assured, it is the truth and the source of eternal life.
Jesus never said to believe Him and keep living like you want, like you are doing now. I can guarantee everyone on this forum, if they want to know Him and eternal life, study His words, consume and digest His words, take up their cross daily and follow Him.
Forgive me for not answering your question. I was replying quickly and made little effort to reply to all remarks. To answer your question, no a person does not pass a test if a person continues hating their brother after being saved. But you have to be careful here with judging a persons heart by their outward actions. Only God knows a persons heart and how long it might take to change their lifestyle. While there may be a lot of subtle changes in a person, and occasionally big noticeable changes, the work God does with you is a lifetime. And some change quicker or slower than others.
John in your situation might be assuming things that could be wrong. John could be missing what God might be seeing, which could be God working in Bill's heart to repent of his hatred. Again, God has to work more with others to see a noticeable lifestyle change. Be careful not to judge what you aren't sure of.
What you are arguing is a salvation by works ideology. Which if you believe in that, that is a whole other discussion we can have. Which of course, I am going to argue is not biblical. The bible is very strong on "works is proof of salvation", not "works is required for salvation".
You have to look at what human nature is, which is inherently to do evil. If you expect someone who inherently enjoys doing evil to stop doing evil before they receive salvation, then I am screwed, you're screwed, and human kind is screwed.
And to cover your last paragraph, you are putting words in my mouth. You are distorting what I said to fit your ideology. I never once AND never will say that Jesus said to believe and keep on living like you want. Many people who believe in the "salvation by works" idea always do this manipulation against people who believe what I do.
So I will try to go over it again, trying to be more clear. Forgive me, for I am not the best with words. This is what I believe. We as humans, are fallen, and lustful for sin. You, me, and everyone in our human bodies will live in sin for the rest of our earthly lives, since that is what we desire. My question is, how can someone repent and stop sinning when we are inherently evil creatures? The answer is, we can't! We can work on trying not to show our sin, and infact become really good at it. But our hearts will still be the same.
Here lies the solution: Our hearts must be renewed. We must die of our old selves and become new. And the only way for that to happen is to be baptized in the baptism of Jesus, to believe on Him and what He did for us, and to repent.
Here is the problem with your ideology: How can someone stop doing what they are naturally intended to do? You need an outsider to change us. To bring verses into this:
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV:
"8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Saying that you have to do something (love your brother) is saying that you personally did something to be saved. If that is the case, then you best be genuinely following all the commandments, or else you aren't saved. You can't just follow one command to be saved, you have to follow them all. And good luck with that, I know I would absolutely fail.
